Take a moment to think about the best customer service experience you’ve ever had. What comes to mind?

Maybe it was the anniversary dinner with your spouse when the restaurant owner brought you complimentary champagne and dessert that you hadn’t ordered. Or the time you posted a positive review about a small business online and then received an unexpected gift from them in the mail. Or when an airline employee upgraded your seat after she learned it was your birthday.

When you think about that above-and-beyond customer service experience, why was it so special? 

Chances are, that moment stands out because it was exceptional and went above and beyond your expectations. The thoughtfulness of the restaurant hostess to check the OpenTable reservation account to see if your meal was booked around a meaningful date. The time and effort a small business employee took to look up your address in their customer database and mail you a gift card. The attention to detail the airline agent paid to getting you home as soon as possible when you faced travel delays. Through their actions, they communicated that they see and value your experience. They honored you in such a personal way that stands out against the purely transactional interactions you encounter every day. The experience not only exceeded your expectations; it made you feel valued, special, and truly appreciated as a customer.

Great nonprofits take this page from the for-profit business world and make donors feel deeply valued for their investment by providing personal and exceptional experiences like these.

But here’s the thing. What the average person may consider exceptional customer service may only be considered mediocre to a high net worth individual. Really think about that. To really get the donor experience right, we have to put ourselves in the shoes of our major donors and be exceptional not just in our own context, but in theirs. We have to think like the Ritz Carlton when interacting with major donors, not act like a mediocre motel.

So let’s imagine a day in the life of a high net worth donor. In some ways, their lives are similar to ours.  They face money, health, and family highs and lows. They have peaks and valleys at work and home. But in many ways, millionaires and billionaires live completely different lives than most of us do. Instead of standing in long lines at TSA, they may skip the crowds and hop on their private jet. Instead of booking a room at the Courtyard Marriott, they are checking in at the Ritz. Dining at Michelin star restaurants and attending exclusive, black tie events are frequent in their schedules, not once-a-year occasions.  

Your large donors are used to being treated very well, and not just on special occasions or vacations. They’re used to having exceptional experiences all the time. They’re constantly exposed to some of the best customer service experiences in the world in their everyday lives. Naturally, their standards for exceptional service are much higher than the average person’s.

In other words, what we consider exceptional is only baseline (or even below baseline) for a high net worth donor.

Unfortunately, nonprofits often fall short of offering their donors exceptional customer service. We send impersonal thank you letters with typos. (Have you even read your nonprofit’s letter recently?) We throw donor events that appear unpolished or even unprofessional. Our interactions with even our largest donors are average at best, and rarely exceptional, if ever. Ultimately, mediocre customer service will only encourage donors to close their checkbooks and seek other options for their philanthropic giving.

How most nonprofits treat donors is pretty dismal. The good news is, this means your organization has the opportunity to stand out as exceptional.  

You don’t need overly complex systems or flashy gestures to delight and honor your donors. But you do need to be thoughtful and personal, which does require forethought and intention.

The key to creating an exceptional experience for high net worth donors is to take the time to invest in a personal relationship and customized experience with them. Take careful note of their likes, dislikes, passions, and what makes them tick. Use this information to create and follow through on a plan to delight the donor in creative and thoughtful ways.

Let me be clear: These gestures shouldn’t be expensive or grand, but they should make the donor feel seen, known, and appreciated. A really talented member of my staff once discovered that one of our major donors loved astronomy. At my next meeting with this donor, he suggested I leave behind a Milky Way bar as a nod to the donor’s hobby. The idea was personal, thoughtful, and not expensive. Most importantly is that a simple candy bar absolutely delighted the donor at the meeting and showed him that our organization cares about him as a person.  He loved it and told me that he would eat it on the ride home because his wife limits sweets at home.

I was telling this same staff person how another donor told me how people don’t recognize her and she is used to re-introducing herself often despite her status running a major foundation. It happens so much, she almost expects it and finds it consistently comical. This same staff person had the clever idea to send her a customized “Hello My Name is..” pin.  She loved it and thought it was very funny. But really the token gift told her, we listened to her conversation, we thought about her as a person, and we acted with the intention to honor, delight, and amuse her about something she finds comical already.

That’s what great cultivators do; they create five-star experiences inside the bounds of a nonprofit world. They think like the Ritz.

One of my favorite stories of exceptional customer experiences is one that went viral several years back. After a young boy’s stuffed giraffe was accidentally left behind at a Ritz Carlton hotel, the hotel staff not only tracked down and returned the giraffe to its owner, but they helped confirm the father’s fabricated story that the giraffe was on an extended vacation in the meantime. The Ritz Carlton employees included photographs of the giraffe laying out by the pool, driving a golf cart, and getting a massage at the hotel as proof. The boy was thrilled to have his giraffe back and delighted to discover his favorite stuffed animal had an adventure at the hotel while he was gone. Parents can especially appreciate this story and the Ritz Carlton’s top-tier customer service.

Adding that “Ritz-Carlton” touch can be as simple as taking the extra time to personalize and perfect a thank you note or giving a small yet thoughtful and personalized gift to a donor.

Another simple way to up your organization’s game with donors is taking periodic, small asks out of your written and email communication with major donors.  The fact is most major donors give just once a year. Make that ask in person and memorable. Then keep them informed and engaged for the rest of the year, not regularly hounded with low ball or frequent pleas for money.

Think about this: What does it say to a donor when you email them a newsletter asking for a $25 donation the month after they give a 5-figure gift to your organization?

Think of how irritating it is to register for a conference and then be hounded with multiple emails encouraging you to register. Why? Because no one valued your time, your registration, or tried even in the smallest way to honor you. You were just treated like a number.

Now ask yourself: “Do we do that with our donors?”

Taking the time to think through ways to honor your donors and provide exceptional customer experience will signal that you’re the real deal and keep major gift donors continually invested as a partner in your organization’s mission.

It also signals that how you treat the individuals your nonprofit serves - with high-quality, personalized, and effective service.

The next time you are creating an experience for your major donors, ask yourself these four questions:

1. What is unique about this donor and how could I honor that in a clever and personal way?

2. Does this interaction honor the donor’s investment in the organization?

3. Will this interaction really feel exceptional and personal to the donor?

4. Will this interaction be Ritz-level so that they will recount the experience to the donor’s spouse or friends (who may become donors as well as a direct result)?